Quebec is a Canadian province that stands out for its humanistic approach to care, centred on the human being, both in supporting its professionals and in accompanying its most vulnerable people.

Quebec is a society marked by an ageing population. This is a major phenomenon that is not expected to slow down until around 2050. The vast majority of seniors live at home. According to the 2016 census data, 89.4% of them live in a private dwelling, 5% in a private seniors' residence (RPA) and 5.6% in a public or private residence with care (including a long-term care facility CHSLD).

On the first day of training, the delegation learned about the Quebec health care system and the panorama of homecare services in Quebec. The afternoon was then dedicated to the presentation of the EÉSAD cooperation network. This network brings together social economy enterprises in home care (EÉSAD). The EÉSADs are mainly administered by and for their users and operate on a non-profit basis. They offer more than 7 million hours of services to 100,000 users with a loss of autonomy, including nearly one million hours of services to assist with daily living (ADL) and 6 million hours of services to assist with domestic life (DLA).

On Tuesday, May 17, the delegation travelled to Sainte Hyacinthe to meet with Sandrine Billeau, Director of the Soutien à l'autonomie des personnes âgées (SAPA) program at the Centre Intégré de Santé et de Services (CISSS) de la Montérégie-Est. The CISSS de la Montérégie-Est employed 15,640 people last year and 832 doctors worked in its facilities. A thousand volunteers are also present in the various services provided to the organization's clients.

The afternoon was devoted to a meeting with renowned academics at the research centre of the Institut Universitaire de Gériatrie de Montréal (IUGM). Their presentations highlighted various current projects focusing on home care for the elderly who are losing their autonomy via new technologies, or on the link between digital health and home care.

On Thursday 19 May, the delegation met with two private homecare companies operating in Quebec: Bayshore Healthcare and Equinoxe Life care. This meeting provided an opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of the innovations and problems of the private home care sector in Quebec.

Next, the group visited SNC Lavalin's Lava-Lab, located in the heart of Montreal, to meet with Numana, a non-profit organisation that contributes significantly to economic and social vitality. Numana is a catalyst of technological ecosystems that, with its partners, connects innovative actors to create more value for the technology industry and for Quebec.

This study tour was an excellent opportunity for delegates to observe the development and implementation of new Quebec trends in home care.